For an Australian there really are only two foreign languages worth learning. They are Mandarin and Arabic.

If, as seems likely, China becomes an economic superpower fluency in Mandarin will confer an advantage in business.

Arabic because increasingly Muslims throughout the world are learning to speak Arabic. In consequence Arabic is likely to rival English as a pan-European language within a generation. More, I think Arabic could become the pan-Mediterranean language.

As GLOBAL languages I cannot think of any language that will rival Arabic, English and Mandarin for the foreseeable future. However the top of the SECOND TIER is likely to be Spanish and Portuguese, the languages of South and Central America.

There are more important things to do in schooltime than teach material merely because of its economic benefits. That is especially the case when school is compulsory--justifications of compulsion require more important benefits. If foreign languages are to have a place (thereby excluding other material), they need to be taught in ways which provide these more important outcomes--and better than the alternatives.

Languages have a weak case against history and some parts of geography, and even music. Extending the curriculum by requiring more years in school, or a longer school day, would solve that problem; but at the expense of creating others.

While it is possible to examine the relationship between language and thought without going beyond English, it is very difficult without the use of foreign language examples. It is also possible to problematise your own culture without the example of that of others. But again it is much easier if students are familiar with more than one culture. (Yes, you can study a culture without learning its language. But not well.)

Monolingualism is a constraint upon thought.

Interesting article. In the dim and distant past when I attended high school, I did a year of Latin, followed by 3 years of German. While neither has subsequently been of much practical use, formally learning these languages enhanced my understanding, not only of English, but also of the relationship between language and thought.

As an adult I became reasonably fluent in Tok Pisin, with a smattering of Bahasa and some obscure languages from PNG. I have always been grateful that I was afforded the opportunity at an early age to learn, via the formal study of other languages, how intrinsic language is to understanding other cultures and peoples.

Those who dismiss the importance of learning languages other than English tend, in my experience, to be ignorant and intolerant of non-Anglo cultures and people - to their own detriment and ultimately of our multicultural society.

I agree that both Mandarin and Arabic should be taught in Australian schools as a matter of course, while there should be a wider range of regional and ethnic languages available. The formal learning of another language is perhaps the greatest facilitator, of which I'm aware, of communication and understanding between people of disparate cultural backgrounds.

*There are more important things to do in schooltime than teach material merely because of its economic benefits.*

Well I guess that is a matter of opinion. Schoolkids, when they
finish school, need the basic skills to be employable and make
a living. Our present system is failing in that.

Today's kids are not the compliant little darlings of years ago.
Try to force them to learn stuff in which they have absolutaly
no interest, like foreign languages, then don't be amazed if they
bunk school, pay no attention, cause trouble or leave school.

There are in fact AFAIK, things not being taught, which could
be taught, to give them real life skills.

Daniel Goleman, in his well known book "Emotional Intelligence",
discusses the value of teaching kids as young as 7, basic
emotional literacy. Impulse control, thinking about what you feel,
conflict resolution skills, some call it EQ, some call it Self
Science, but by what I've read, the effect on kids has been dramatic.

They learn that violence is not the answer, some go home and solve
their parents disputes. it helps them deal with self esteem,
depression and a heap of other similar subjects.

Those are the sorts of life skills that can change peoples lives
and what basic education should be all about.

Leave learning languages to those who are interested and have
the aptitude, as was pointed out by other posters. Otherwise
don't be amazed if kids rebel against your schooling system,
as you bore them with your compulsory boringness of learning
a foreign language.

Also spracht Monolinguista!

I'd be willing to bet that Yabby hasn't experienced sending a kid to school, then high school, then university.

There's much more to education, at any level, than training in 'practical' skills.

I'm also willing to bet that Yabby knows no other language than English, in which - despite it being his native language - he is barely competent.

Ah CJ, you lost your bet, for in fact I speak fluent German and
a bit of French, enough to get me around Paris for a couple of
years in my teens. English was not my mother tongue btw, but Swiss.

In a past life I used to employ 30 or so different people a year,
so I am well aware how our school leavers turn out.

It seems to me that you are being an elitist snob, concerned with
those going on to university and ignoring the rest, which
are the majority.

Now if you would actually like to make a positive contribution for
a change, what say you check out the emotional literacy programme
as per Goleman and think of the implications if it was taught at
our schools. Implictions for the whole of society, from domestic
violence onwards.